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Vasse Felix Heytesbury Margaret River Chardonnay

The pinnacle of Heytesbury’s ascent over the past six vintages under Virginia Willcocks, the 2012 vintage secures this wine a place among the top half dozen chardonnays in the country. And at $53 this week (Discount Wines), it’s the most affordable in this set. The bouquet is finely poised, gorgeously lifted yet deeply complex, an enchanting encounter with struck flint, gunsmoke and breathtaking lemon blossom. The palate is a revelation of control and definition, impeccably crafted to contrast monumentally structured and finely mineral acid line with beautifully poised white fruit presence. It’s at once powerful in grand cru proportions and incisively drawn in tense, coiled suspension. Line is faultless and persistence is epic. This is Heytesbury of the highest order. $53 at Discount Wines.